Whistleblowers

CODEPINK calls for JUSTICE for incarcerated and exiled whistleblowers who have exposed the truth. Whether it's releasing the Iraq war logs or secret documents on NSA domestic spying, the whistle-blowers seeking corporate and government transparency have endured severe consequences. CODEPINK celebrates the courage of whistleblowers Edward Snowden, Jeffery Sterling, and Jeremy Hammond.

Take Action!

Write a Whistleblower! Host a letter-writing potluck, picnic or party to recognize a whistleblower and celebrate truth and justice on their behalf. It’s an unfortunate reality that today whistleblowers seeking justice are incarcerated, exiled or pushed to suicide. The burdens this places on our social system and affected families are both financial and emotional. The damages this causes affects our society and our communities. Find out how to write a letter to Edward Snowden, Jeffrey Sterling or Jeremy Hammond below in the Resources section. Here are additional political prisoners to contact.

Resources:

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, born Bradley Edward Manning, was a U.S soldier convicted in July 2013 for a series of offenses including violations of the Espionage Act, after leaking more than 700,000 classified files of diplomatic cables and other documents to Wikileaks widely known as “Cablegate”. Included in these were videos of the massacre of civilians in both Afghan and Iraq wars. Dishonorably discharged from the Army, Manning had already served 1,294 days in prison when she was sentenced in August 2013 to 35 years confinement with the possibility of parole in 8 years. Manning is a transgender woman and had suffered excessively harsh treatment during her detention in Quantico. After sentencing she said in a statement, "I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female...” Follow Chelsea on Twitter: https://twitter.com/xychelsea

(Any mail addressed to Chelsea risks the possibility of being returned or destroyed)

Edward Joseph Snowden, is a former CIA employee and National Security Administration contractor and computer specialist who leaked classified NSA documents in mid- 2013 to several media outlets including the Guardian, thus initiating the NSA Leaks. Snowden’s release of classified material has been referred to as the most significant leak in US history. According to Snowden, his “sole motive” for leaking NSA documents was “to inform the public to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.” U.S. authorities have charged Snowden with espionage and theft of government property. He currently resides in an undisclosed location in Russia where he has temporary asylum. Follow Edward on Twitter: https://twitter.com/snowden

Jeremy Hammond, is a political activist and computer “hacktivist” with the group Anonymous. A believer in “electronic civil disobedience” as a means of fighting for social justice…” On November 15th, 2013 Hammond was sentenced to 10 years in prison for computer crimes, most notably the break-in of the systems of the U.S government intelligence contractor, Strategic Forecasting, better known as Stratfor, for leaking millions of its internal e-mails to WikiLeaks. This leak revealed, among other things, surveillance of political groups in the U.S and abroad, from Occupy Wall Street, to activists in Bhopal, India.

Jeffrey Sterling is an American lawyer and former CIA employee who was arrested, charged, and convicted of violating the Espionage Act for revealing details about Operation Merlin, a covert operation under the Clinton Administration to provide Iran with a flawed design for a component of a nuclear weapon in order to frame Iran. The information was leaked to journalist James Risen. Sterling was convicted of espionage charges on January 26, 2015 and in May of 2015, Sterling was sentenced to 3½ years in prison.